


Fairytale

by Theodosia Tallmadge (SilverDragonoid)



Series: Hamcember 2020 Prompt Fills [3]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ambiguous Relationships, Babysitting, Day 26, Fairy Tale Retellings, Fluff, Gen, Genderbending, Hamcember
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:15:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28344504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverDragonoid/pseuds/Theodosia%20Tallmadge
Summary: John gets to babysit the Hamilkids. After watching "Frozen" together, he decides to tell them the fairytale the movie is based on.(Tagged as genderbend because John inserts himself and Alex as girls to make it less obvious)
Relationships: (Past) Alexander Hamilton/John Laurens, Alexander Hamilton/Elizabeth "Eliza" Schuyler
Series: Hamcember 2020 Prompt Fills [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2059149
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	Fairytale

“You got the keys?”

“Yes.”

“You know how to change diapers?”

“Yes.”

“Ringtone’s on?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Soup’s on the stove. Don’t eat too many sweets. Thank you for looking after them. We’ll be back at ten,” Eliza finishes her checklist and kisses her children goodbye.

“Don’t worry. I’m looking after Philip since his birth”, John replies.

Alexander and Eliza already pass the threshold when she spins around to face John again and raises her index finger. “And no swearing in front of the kids.”

John laughs. “Because Alex ever stopped swearing?”

His best friend stifles a laugh but Eliza isn’t convinced.

“Don’t worry, Liz, I got it. The only one I’m swearing to is God in my prayers.” As he speaks ironically, John looks up to the ceiling and holds his palms up.

Eliza rolls her eyes but smiles. Her hand unconsciously wanders to rest on her swollen belly. It’s a habit she had already when she was pregnant with Philip.

Alex adds: “The garden is watered already. So, focus on having fun.”

“The purpose of this is that you two have a fun time. Go now”, John shoos them away.

Little Angelica clings to John’s leg and grins at her parents. “We will have much fun with Uncle John!” And it’s even cuter as she still has problems pronouncing the W.

Alexander chuckles and says: “Always listen to him. Bye!” Then, the pair link their arms and are gone to their date ‘night’.

John closes the door and is greeted with six sparkling eyes. Six-year-old Philip who just got into first grade, his two years younger sister Angelica, and another couple of years younger Alexander Jr. stare at him with anticipation. They love spending time with Uncle John because he always does funny things and isn’t as strict as their parents.

“Who’s hungry?” he asks and all three raise their arms. They smile brightly at him – it’s visible that Philip recently lost his first milk tooth – but the mood swings when John continues with: “You heard mom. Soup for dinner.”

Philip pulls at the fabric of John’s trousers, pouts, and makes puppy-eyes. They look so shockingly similar that John empathizes with his own father right now. “We don’t want soup”, the boy says.

“Then, let’s make a deal”, John suggests, “We all eat a small portion of soup and afterward I give you candy and we watch a movie. Deal?”

Alexander seems slightly confused but his siblings already blurt out “Deal” after exchanging one telepathic look.

At the table, they barely complain about the sizes of the portion and John lets Alex sit on his lap instead of his highchair. Then, John builds a cozy nest with pillows and blankets in front of the TV. He puts in the DVD of  _ Frozen _ and the kids are in love from the first second. John memorizes for later to tell his friends to buy an Olaf plushie for the next birthday. The magic, the music, and the sisterly love catch their hearts.

After the movie, Angie still hums fractions of the melodies. She chose Anna as her favorite character because “I would do the same if John runs away”. However, Olaf and Sven savor high popularity among the trio.

“It’s time to go to sleep, little ones”, the man says eventually. It just started to dawn and if they aren’t asleep until Alexander and Eliza are back… well, it won’t happen a lot. He just tries to prevent them from repeating the same mistakes he’s done in his youth.

“We don’t want to sleep.”

“Exactly. We’re not tired, yet”, Philip supports his sister.

John sighs. It’s always the same. “Sleep is important. Without you’ll get weak and stupid. Trust me, I’ve been there.” It doesn’t work. Of course, they don’t listen as they yet have to experience what a prolonged lack of sleep does to a body.

He hardens his voice a bit: “I won’t repeat myself: To your beds, now.”

“Can you at least sing us something from the movie?” is Philip’s last attempt at procrastination, “Daddy always tells us how you used to sing together and that you’re amazing. You were a band at high school.”

John smiles at the wonderful and embarrassing memories he shares with Alex, Laf, and Herc because of that.

“Yes! The song Elza sings!” Angie jumps in.

Suddenly, John gets an other idea. “What about I tell you a story instead? The real story the movie is based on.” The children agree eagerly and walk in the direction of their bedrooms. “Stop! First, bathroom.”

So, John helps to shower everyone, changes Alex’s diapers, and supervises them as they brush their teeth. Afterward, he leads them to the parent’s bedroom where also Alex’s cot stands. John puts the little boy to bed before making himself comfortable in the marriage bed with the other two at his left.

“Are you comfortable?” he inquires.

Both children nod. Unfortunately, the excitement in their faces doesn’t indicate a dream soon. Though, children are inclined to fall asleep in seconds even if they negate it.

Without further ado, John starts the fairytale: “ _ Once upon a time, there were two girls: Jane and Alice. They were the best of friends. _ ”

“Were they beautiful?” asks Angelica.

“They were very beautiful. Alice had long, black hair that was glistening and she had a light tan. And Jane had long, brown curls and a sun-kissed face.”

“Just like you, Uncle John!” the boy notices.

John laughs. “Yeah, just like Uncle John. So,  _ the girl’s lived door to door so they shared a balcony. They grew the most beautiful roses on it which represented their strong bond. _ ”

“Like daddy’s?” comes Alex’s sleepy voice.

“Nah. Nothing is as beautiful as your father’s roses”, John responds and the kids giggle, “ _ But there was also a cursed mirror. Everything in its reflecion looked ugly and deformed. One day, this mirror shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. These shards fell everywhere on the world and when someone got one into his heart or his eyes, their hearts turned to stone and everything appeared ugly and rotten, even the most beautiful flower. The sun felt cold for them and they only saw the bad in the people, not the good. _ ”

Philip comments with a heavy heart: “This sounds horrible. Living like that must be sad.”

“It is. They lost all happiness.  _ Sadly, Alice got a shard into her heart and into her eyes. She turned cold and mean. Jane tried to help her see the good again but nothing worked. On a stormy night, Alice got so angry that she destroyed their rose garden, stormed out, and ran away. On the road, she met a woman with skin like snow and eyes like ice. She wore an icy crown and a long, white fur coat. Everywhere the coat touched the ground, everything froze, leaving a trail behind. _ ”

“Who was this woman?” Philip asked.

“The Snow Queen,” John answered.

“Elza!?” little Angie exclaimed.

But John negates it: “No, not Elza. This was the real Snow Queen.  _ She’s a cold-hearted, serious woman. But she liked Alice so she kissed the girl two times: once to numb her from the cold, and a second time to make her forget about Jane and her family; a third kiss would turn her whole body to ice and kill her. The Snow Queen took Alice with her on her flying sleigh, far, far away to her ice castle. _

_ Jane searched the whole town for her friend but found no trace. The people said that Alice probably died in the storm, drowned in the river wherefore nobody can find her. But Jane didn’t believe them. She felt that Alice was still alive. Still, she went to the river and searched there for clues. When the river saw her misery and asked her about it– _ ”

“The river could talk!?” Philip’s eyes are wide.

“Not to everyone. But it spoke to Jane,” John proceeds with the tale, “ _ She told the river her story and the river understood. He has seen the Snow Queen and in which direction she has left. So, Jane climbed into a boat and the river carried her as far north as he could. From there, she continues on land. _

_ She meets a sorceress who has a garden of eternal summer. The sorceress wants Jane to stay with her forever, so she causes Jane to forget Alice, and causes all the roses in her garden to sink beneath the earth since she knows that the sight of them will remind Jane of her friend. Luckily, she forgot one rose and, when Jane saw this rose, her memories came back and she fled to pursue her path. _

_On her way, she meets a field crow. She asks the crow if it knew anything. She described Alice’s appearance and the crow said that this land was ruled by the royal siblings, Prince Philip, Princess Angelica_ ,” the namesakes’ eyes light up, _“and Princess Alex–_ ”

Angelica interrupts: “We are in the story, too?” She looks so excited. John smiles at her and nods.

Philip points at Alex’s cot and says amused: “And Alex is there as a princess.”

Turns out Alex fell asleep already. John celebrates this first victory on the inside.

After a round of fond laughter, he continues: “ _ The crow said that the description fits Princess Alex so Jane should meet her to check if this is her lost Alice. Jane met the princes and princesses but it turned out that Alex isn’t Alice. They looked very similar, though. Jane told them her story and they gifted her a carriage to travel quicker. _ ”

“This was Princess Angelica’s idea for sure”, Angie mumbles and Philip rolls his eyes.

“For sure!  _ So on, while traveling in the carriage, Jane was captured by robbers and brought to their hide-out, where she befriends a little robber girl. _ ”

“Can this robber girl be Theodosia?” Philip suggests with puppy-eyes. As if John could say ‘no’ to this.

“Of course, she can.  _ Theodosia led Jane to the robber’s captured reindeer– _ ”

“Sven!” both kids shout in unison.

John says: “Let it be Sven. But don’t wake your brother.”

The siblings lower their gazes in guilt but their moods rise as soon as John tells the fairytale.

“ _ Sven said that he saw Alice when she was carried away by the Snow Queen in the direction of Lapland. He also says that he knows how to get to Lapland since it is his home. Theodosia frees Jane and the reindeer to travel to the Snow Queen's palace. _ ” The children are joyful about the release.

“ _ They reached the palace and Sven explained to Jane why things and animals listened to her, why she got so far without anything. ‘Your unique power to save Alice is in your sweet and innocent child's heart’, he said, ‘Don't you see how strong that is? How everything is obliged to serve you, and how well you got through the world, barefooted as you are. There’s no power greater than you have now, which consists in your own purity and innocence of heart. You are guided by your pure love and affection for Alice. If you yourself cannot break the Snow Queen’s spell and remove the glass fragments from little Alice, then no one can.’ _

_ Sven couldn’t follow her into the ice palace but he would wait for her and Alice to bring them back. The gates to the palace were hidden at the end of a labyrinth but I just sang– _ ”

“You?” Philip stops him mid-sentence and raises an eyebrow.

John laughs nervously and scratches the back of his head. “Did I say ‘I’? Sorry, a slip of the tongue. Don’t mind it.” Fortunately, the kids let the matter fall.

“ _ So, Jane sang the song that has always connected her and Alice. Suddenly, a faint light showed her the right way. It led her into the Snow Queen’s throne room where she saw Alice sitting on the ground, playing with snow, an empty look on her face. Jane stopped singing and the light disappeared. She ran to Alice as fast as her feet could carry her and hugged her. But Alice was still under the Snow Queen’s spell and didn’t recognize her best friend. _ ”

“Oh no… How did Jane break the spell?” Angie asks, her voice heavy with sleep.

“ _ Desperate, Jane kissed Alice and cried warm tears. Her warm tears of love fell onto Alice’s chest and face so that the shards melted and Alice finally became her old self. She recognized Jane and they embraced each other. Alice warned that the Snow Queen should arrive soon. With the help of their song, the light shone brighter than before and they got out of the castle very fast. Sven carried them to the robber’s place and from there they walked home. At home, Alice and Jane found that everything at home was the same and that it was they who have changed; they were grown up now and were also delighted to see that it was summer. They restored their rose garden, bigger and more beautiful than before, and lived happily ever after. _ ”

John looks at the sleeping girl on the other side of the bed and mentally celebrates another victory. Philip, though, is still awake and listening attentively.

“That was a beautiful story”, he says and snuggles up to John.

John lays an arm around him and replies: “I’m glad you enjoyed it. Now, it’s time for sweet dreams.”

The boy hums in agreement and closes his eyes. “I love you, Uncle John.”

“Love you, too, Pip.” He kisses Philip’s hair.

Not even five minutes later, and all children sleep soundly. John sneaks out of the room and is greeted with the chaos they left behind in the living room. He just tidied up when the house door opens.

Alexander greets him: “Hey, John. Were the kids a burden?”

But John’s answer is: “As always, they were a delight. Did you have fun?”

“Yes”, Eliza responds, “Morning sickness kicked in once. It didn’t prevent me from enjoying the amazing food and music, though.” Feeling content, she gives her husband a peck on the cheek.

“Yeah, it was a nice evening. Thanks to you, John,” Alexander agrees.

“Nothing worth mentioning”, John brushes it off, “You know I enjoy it. They’re sleeping in your bed now. I hope it’s okay.”

“It’s fine”, Eliza says and goes to her room to check on her kids.

Alex inquires: “What did you do?”

“Dinner, movie…” John counts on his fingers, “and then I told them a bedtime story.”

“Oh. What story?”

“Our story.”

Alexander can’t help the warm, knowing  smile. If you look closely enough, and from the right angle, you could still see a tiny scratch on his eye’s cornea.

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to [Icarus_Flew](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Icarus_Flew/pseuds/Icarus_Flew) for beta'ing this. Lots of love<3


End file.
